Asian Games 2026 Cricket Schedule, Teams, Squads, Fixtures, Dates, Venues and More
The Asian Games 2026 cricket competition is being held at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Japan. Cricket is included in the Games for the fourth time, with the men’s T20I tournament scheduled from September 24 to October 3, 2026. The women’s competition was played earlier from September 17 to 22, with India winning the women’s gold medal after defeating Sri Lanka in the final.
The men’s competition features 10 teams and follows a two-stage format. Afghanistan, Japan and Nepal form Group A, while Hong Kong, Malaysia and Oman are in Group B. India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have received direct entry into the quarter-finals. The top two teams from each preliminary group will join those four seeded teams in the knockout stage.
All men’s cricket matches are scheduled at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin, Aichi Prefecture. The men’s tournament begins on September 24 with Afghanistan facing Japan and Hong Kong, China taking on Malaysia.
Asian Games 2026 Cricket Overview
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Tournament | Asian Games 2026 |
| Cricket Edition | 20th Asian Games |
| Host | Aichi-Nagoya, Japan |
| Cricket Format | T20I |
| Men’s Competition | September 24 – October 3, 2026 |
| Women’s Competition | September 17 – September 22, 2026 |
| Men’s Teams | 10 |
| Women’s Teams | 8 |
| Men’s Venue | Korogi Sports Park, Nisshin |
| Organising Body | Olympic Council of Asia |
| Cricket Authority | International Cricket Council / Asian cricket authorities |
| Men’s Defending Champions | India |
| Women’s Defending Champions | India |
The Olympic Council of Asia confirmed cricket as part of the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 sports programme in May 2025.
Participating Teams
Men’s Cricket Teams
The 10 men’s teams are:
Group A
- Afghanistan
- Japan
- Nepal
Group B
- Hong Kong, China
- Malaysia
- Oman
Direct Quarter-final Entrants
- India
- Pakistan
- Sri Lanka
- Bangladesh
The preliminary groups contain three teams each, with the top two from each group progressing to the quarter-finals.
Women’s Cricket Teams
The women’s tournament featured eight teams:
- India
- Japan
- Bangladesh
- China
- Pakistan
- Sri Lanka
- Malaysia
- Thailand
Unlike the men’s event, the women’s competition used a straight knockout structure.
Asian Games 2026 Men’s Cricket Complete Schedule
The men’s preliminary round begins on September 24. The quarter-finals will be played on September 28 and 29, followed by the semi-finals on October 1 and the medal matches on October 3.
| Match | Date | Time (IST) | Fixture | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 24 | 5:30 AM | Afghanistan vs Japan | Korogi Sports Park |
| 2 | September 24 | 10:30 AM | Hong Kong, China vs Malaysia | Korogi Sports Park |
| 3 | September 25 | 5:30 AM | Hong Kong, China vs Oman | Korogi Sports Park |
| 4 | September 25 | 10:30 AM | Afghanistan vs Nepal | Korogi Sports Park |
| 5 | September 26 | 5:30 AM | Japan vs Nepal | Korogi Sports Park |
| 6 | September 26 | 10:30 AM | Malaysia vs Oman | Korogi Sports Park |
| QF 1 | September 28 | 5:30 AM | Pakistan vs 2nd, Group B | Korogi Sports Park |
| QF 2 | September 28 | 10:30 AM | India vs 2nd, Group A | Korogi Sports Park |
| QF 3 | September 29 | 5:30 AM | Sri Lanka vs 1st, Group A | Korogi Sports Park |
| QF 4 | September 29 | 10:30 AM | Bangladesh vs 1st, Group B | Korogi Sports Park |
| SF 1 | October 1 | 5:30 AM | TBC vs TBC | Korogi Sports Park |
| SF 2 | October 1 | 10:30 AM | TBC vs TBC | Korogi Sports Park |
| Bronze Medal Match | October 3 | 5:30 AM | TBC vs TBC | Korogi Sports Park |
| Gold Medal Match | October 3 | 10:30 AM | TBC vs TBC | Korogi Sports Park |
Times are Indian Standard Time. The corresponding local Japan times are two hours later because Japan operates on JST (UTC+9).
Asian Games 2026 Women’s Cricket Schedule
The women’s competition has already concluded.
| Stage | Date | Fixture | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| QF 1 | September 17 | Bangladesh Women vs China Women | Abandoned |
| QF 2 | September 17 | Pakistan Women vs Thailand Women | Pakistan Women won by 3 wickets |
| QF 3 | September 18 | Malaysia Women vs Sri Lanka Women | Sri Lanka Women won by 86 runs |
| QF 4 | September 18 | India Women vs Japan Women | India Women won by 8 wickets |
| SF 1 | September 20 | Pakistan Women vs Sri Lanka Women | Sri Lanka Women advanced |
| SF 2 | September 20 | India Women vs Bangladesh Women | India Women advanced |
| Bronze Medal | September 22 | Pakistan Women vs Bangladesh Women | Pakistan Women won |
| Gold Medal | September 22 | India Women vs Sri Lanka Women | India Women won |
India defeated Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the women’s final, with India scoring 216/3 before dismissing Sri Lanka for 69. Pakistan won the bronze medal by defeating Bangladesh by 31 runs.
Venues
Korogi Sports Park
All cricket matches at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games are scheduled at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin, Aichi Prefecture. The venue is also referred to as Korogi Athletic Park in some schedule listings.
| Venue | City | Country | Cricket Matches |
|---|---|---|---|
| Korogi Sports Park | Nisshin, Aichi | Japan | Men’s and Women’s Asian Games cricket |
The concentration of the cricket competition at one venue means there is no multi-city travel schedule for the cricket teams.
Team Squads
India Men’s Squad
India’s latest confirmed men’s Asian Games squad is:
- Shreyas Iyer (Captain)
- Abhishek Sharma
- Sanju Samson
- Ishan Kishan
- Shivam Dube
- Tilak Varma
- Vipraj Nigam
- Axar Patel
- Washington Sundar
- Ravi Bishnoi
- Jasprit Bumrah
- Harshit Rana
- Arshdeep Singh
- Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
- Yash Thakur
There was a late change to India’s squad. Varun Chakaravarthy was ruled out with a side strain and replaced by Vipraj Nigam, while Nitish Kumar Reddy was withdrawn from the Asian Games squad and moved into India’s ODI squad for the West Indies series.
Afghanistan Men’s Squad
- Darwish Rasooli (Captain)
- Abdullah Ahmadzai
- Mohammad Akram
- Ismat Alam
- Faridoon Dawoodzai
- Hassan Eisakhil
- Mohammad Ishaq
- Karim Janat
- Faisal Khan
- Nangyal Kharoti
- Imran Mir
- Arab Gul Momand
- Farmanullah Safi
- Khalid Taniwal
- Najibullah Zadran
Bangladesh Men’s Squad
- Litton Das (Captain)
- Tanzid Hasan
- Parvez Hossain Emon
- Mohammed Saif Hasan
- Najmul Hossain Shanto
- Tawhid Hridoy
- Musaddek Hossain Saikat
- Yasir Ali Chowdhury
- Rishad Hossain
- Shak Mahedi Hasan
- Nasum Ahmed
- Shoriful Islam
- Mustafizur Rahman
- Hasan Mahmud
Japan Men’s Squad
- Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming (Captain)
- Charlie Hara-Hinze
- Benjamin Ito-Davis
- Alester Kadowaki-Fleming
- Kohei Kubota
- Jake Kusuda-Nairn
- Wataru Miyauchi
- Reo Sakurano-Thomas
- Alex Shirai-Patmore
- Shoma Sugaya-Slater
- Declan Suzuki
- Tsuyoshi Takada
- Ibrahim Takahashi
- Makoto Taniyama
- Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake
Nepal Men’s Squad
- Dipendra Singh Airee (Captain)
- Rohit Kumar Paudel
- Sompal Kami
- Karan KC
- Sandeep Lamichhane
- Aarif Sheikh
- Aasif Sheikh
- Kushal Bhurtel
- Lalit Rajbanshi
- Gulsan Kumar Jha
- Nandan Yadav
- Lokesh Bam
- Sundeep Jora
- Sher Malla
- Kushal Malla
Oman Men’s Squad
- Sufyan Mehmood (Captain)
- Muzaffar Shiralkar
- Mohammed Ali Al Balushi
- Zubair Al Balushi
- Shuaib Al Balushi
- Nawed Al Balushi
- Wasim Al Balushi
- Ahmed Al Zadjali
- Sameer Othman
- Waheed Al Balushi
- Faris Al Balushi
- Mohammed Osman
- Issa Rahim Al Balushi
- Abdul Jalil
- Qais Al Balushi
Pakistan Men’s Squad
- Sahibzada Farhan (Captain)
- Abdul Samad (Vice-Captain)
- Abrar Ahmed
- Ahmed Daniyal
- Akif Javed
- Ali Raza
- Arafat Minhas
- Haider Ali
- Hasan Nawaz
- Maaz Sadaqat
- Mohammad Salman Mirza
- Saad Masood
- Saim Ayub
- Sufyan Moqim
- Usman Khan
Sri Lanka Men’s Squad
- Sahan Arachchige (Captain)
- Ashen Bandara
- Lasith Croospulle
- Sohan de Livera
- Niroshan Dickwella
- Binura Fernando
- Nuwanidu Fernando
- Tharindu Ratnayake
- Dushan Hemantha
- Sineth Jayawardena
- Chamika Karunaratne
- Garuka Sanketh
- Wanuja Sahan
- Nuwan Thushara
- Vijayakanth Viyaskanth
Hong Kong, China Men’s Squad
The ICC squad listing states that the Hong Kong, China men’s squad was yet to be announced in its latest squad compilation.
Malaysia Men’s Squad
The ICC squad listing states that the Malaysia men’s squad was yet to be announced in its latest squad compilation.
Team Captains
| Team | Captain |
|---|---|
| Afghanistan | Darwish Rasooli |
| Bangladesh | Litton Das |
| Hong Kong, China | Not officially listed in ICC squad source |
| India | Shreyas Iyer |
| Japan | Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming |
| Malaysia | Not officially listed in ICC squad source |
| Nepal | Dipendra Singh Airee |
| Oman | Sufyan Mehmood |
| Pakistan | Sahibzada Farhan |
| Sri Lanka | Sahan Arachchige |
The captain information above is based on the latest ICC squad listing; where that source says a squad had not been announced, no captain has been inferred.
Previous Edition
The previous men’s Asian Games cricket competition was held at the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023 after the Jakarta-Palembang 2018 Games did not feature cricket.
India won the men’s gold medal at Hangzhou 2023. The gold-medal match between India and Afghanistan was washed out by rain, with India taking gold because of its higher seeding. Afghanistan received silver. Bangladesh won bronze.
In the women’s competition, India also won gold in Hangzhou, defeating Sri Lanka in the final.
Defending Champions
India are the defending champions in both men’s and women’s Asian Games cricket.
The men’s team won gold at Hangzhou 2023 after the final against Afghanistan was washed out and the higher-seeded Indian side was awarded the gold medal.
India also retained the women’s title in the 2026 edition, defeating Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the gold-medal match on September 22.
Previous Season Runner-Up
Men’s Cricket
Afghanistan were the men’s silver-medal winners at Hangzhou 2023. The gold-medal match was washed out, with India receiving gold because of the seeding system.
Women’s Cricket
Sri Lanka were the women’s silver-medal winners at Hangzhou 2023 and reached the 2026 final again, where they lost to India.
Tournament Format
Men’s Competition
The men’s competition is a 10-team T20I tournament divided into two phases.
The six lower-seeded teams play the preliminary round:
Group A
- Afghanistan
- Japan
- Nepal
Group B
- Hong Kong, China
- Malaysia
- Oman
The top two teams from each group progress to the quarter-finals. India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh enter directly at the quarter-final stage.
The knockout stage consists of:
- Four quarter-finals
- Two semi-finals
- Bronze-medal match
- Gold-medal match
Women’s Competition
The women’s competition consists of eight teams in a straight knockout format:
- Four quarter-finals
- Two semi-finals
- Bronze-medal match
- Gold-medal match
The women’s competition concluded on September 22.
Important Rules
The men’s competition does not use a traditional league table involving all 10 teams. Only Afghanistan, Japan and Nepal compete in Group A, while Hong Kong, Malaysia and Oman compete in Group B.
The top two sides from each preliminary group qualify for the quarter-finals. India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh bypass the preliminary round because of their seeding.
The cricket matches are played in the T20I format.
Key Players to Watch
Shreyas Iyer — India
Shreyas Iyer is India’s captain for the men’s Asian Games campaign. He heads a squad containing several established India T20 players, including Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh.
Jasprit Bumrah — India
Bumrah is included in India’s Asian Games squad and brings international experience to the bowling group.
Litton Das — Bangladesh
Litton Das will captain Bangladesh. The squad also includes Najmul Hossain Shanto, Tanzid Hasan, Tawhid Hridoy, Rishad Hossain and Mustafizur Rahman.
Dipendra Singh Airee — Nepal
Dipendra Singh Airee captains Nepal and is one of the most experienced players in the preliminary Group A. Nepal also have Sandeep Lamichhane, Karan KC, Sompal Kami and Kushal Malla in their squad.
Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming — Japan
Kadowaki-Fleming captains the host nation and is described by the ICC as Japan’s most prolific run-scorer. He will lead Japan against Afghanistan in the opening men’s match.
Key Matches
The men’s tournament opens on September 24 with Afghanistan vs Japan in Group A. The same day will also feature Hong Kong, China vs Malaysia in Group B.
India’s first match is scheduled for September 28 in the second quarter-final. India will face the team that finishes second in Group A.
The final two men’s medal matches are scheduled for October 3, with the bronze-medal match in the morning and the gold-medal match later in the day.
Records and History
The Asian Games cricket medal history includes:
| Edition | Men’s Gold | Men’s Silver | Men’s Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 Guangzhou | Bangladesh | Afghanistan | Pakistan |
| 2014 Incheon | Sri Lanka | Afghanistan | Bangladesh |
| 2018 Jakarta-Palembang | Cricket not held | — | — |
| 2023 Hangzhou | India | Afghanistan | Bangladesh |
The men’s Asian Games cricket tournament has therefore produced three different gold-medal winners in the editions where cricket was contested: Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and India. Afghanistan have won three consecutive men’s silver medals, according to the ICC’s historical overview.
India are the current men’s champions.
Important Dates
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Women’s cricket begins | September 17, 2026 |
| Women’s cricket Final | September 22, 2026 |
| Men’s cricket begins | September 24, 2026 |
| Men’s preliminary round ends | September 26, 2026 |
| Men’s quarter-finals | September 28–29, 2026 |
| Men’s semi-finals | October 1, 2026 |
| Men’s Bronze Medal Match | October 3, 2026 |
| Men’s Gold Medal Match | October 3, 2026 |
| Asian Games 2026 concludes | October 4, 2026 |
The overall Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games run through October 4, while the men’s cricket competition concludes on October 3.
What to Expect
The remaining cricket action at the 2026 Asian Games is the men’s T20I tournament, which begins on September 24. Six teams will compete for four quarter-final places before joining India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the knockout stage.
India enter as the defending men’s champions and have named Shreyas Iyer as captain. Their updated squad includes experienced international players such as Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar, along with younger players including Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Vipraj Nigam.
The preliminary round begins with Afghanistan against hosts Japan and Hong Kong, China against Malaysia. Nepal and Oman will also enter the competition during the three-day group stage.
The women’s competition has already provided the first cricket gold medal of the Games, with India defeating Sri Lanka in the final on September 22
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